A look back at 2020…

Hi guys! Facebook saw this first, but I would be remiss to not also post it here. These were my thoughts on December 27th – reflecting on that last Sunday of the year.

This is a small snippet of this verse, but I think it best summarizes how part of 2020 has gone and impacted a lot of people. “I would not have known what sin was if it had not been for the law”. Think of it in simple terms. Sometimes, there’s no desire to do something until after someone tells you that you can’t.

On this last Sunday in 2020, looking back on this year, I can’t help but think about the sacrifices of our health care workers. People who have literally given everything, their very lives, to treat and try to save the sick. For a real-world example of this verse in action, let’s take recommended Covid prevention guidance – physically distance/don’t gather in large crowds, wear a mask, stay home whenever possible. No request for blood. No giving your first born. No sacrificing your own life. Seems simple enough, right? Until someone tells you that you need to do it or your city passed a mask mandate or a stay at home order. For some people, those recommendations being ‘made into a law’ gave them an itch to travel and throw parties. Simple actions in hopes to save lives became an infringement of rights. Had it not been for the law…

There is nothing wrong with laws themselves. In fact, they show us where we are. Later in this verse, Paul speaks of coveting – something we’re all guilty of. “But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting.” You know not to covet, but the guilt of doing it only came from knowing the law. The 10 Commandments in this case. Sometimes, the harder you try not to do something, the more you seem to mess up. Anybody been there before?

My friend, that’s the point. The law is not there to rain on your parade, but to show you that you cannot meet it perfectly on your own. You are imperfect, and imperfect people only get perfected through a Savior.

Read Hebrews 10 in The Message translation. It says that ‘Christ made a single sacrifice for sins, and that was it… It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people’. And His sacrifice was to accept your punishment for sin and sacrifice His life in place of yours.

You cannot do life on your own. It’s too much on your own. You and I need Jesus.

Before 2020 comes to a close, I wanted to look back on my life for myself. Through sickness, through divorce, through shame, through depression, struggling to pay bills, I am still here. But I am not just alive; I am thriving! I am no longer sick. I don’t carry shame or depression anymore, but peace and joy. My divorce is now my testimony that gave birth to this online platform. My bills are not only paid, but I have a fully funded emergency fund, my son’s college is prepaid in full, and I’m on track to pay my mortgage off at least 16 years early. The ONLY reason for it all is Jesus. Living would have been impossible without Him.

There is no greater advice or encouragement that I can give you than to point you to Jesus. If He wasn’t in your 2020, make Him part of your 2021. Things will only get better from here.

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I wish everyone a very happy new year and many blessings in 2021!